Two separate events affecting Georgia's opposition groups vividly demonstrate the extremes of contemporary political life in Georgia.

On October 17, the Conservative and Republican parties announced the establishment of a new parliamentary faction composed of former members of the ruling National Movement and former allies of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. After the 2003 Rose Revolution both the Conservatives and the Republicans quit the National Movement. Now they seek to protect the gains made by the Rose Revolution through a different mechanism.

On October 3, the nationalist politicians not represented in parliament announced an "Anti-Soros" public movement to repel the spreading ideas of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, which, they claim, "threaten the nation."

The anti-Soros movement confirms the increasing polarization of the already extreme Georgian political spectrum and reveals the ongoing clash of basic values that has become particularly visible since the Rose Revolution. Saakashvili's team has dared to shake the seemingly entrenched, archaic belief systems largely inherited from the Soviet past but identified by segments of Georgian society as "national values."

"I regret that I used a Soros grant," lamented Maia Nikolaishvili, a well-known forensic expert and co-founder of the movement. "Is it possible that Georgian society still has not become aware that Soros is the enemy of Georgia and each of us?" she asked.

The anti-Soros movement unites a diverse group of politicians and civic leaders, including followers of former president Eduard Shevardnadze and the former leader of Ajaria, Aslan Abashidze. The anti-Soros movement members seek to protect "national" values against creeping Western values.

Several leaders of the movement, including Nikolaishvili, believe Tbilisi must rebuild its relations with Russia to protest the excessive "Westernization" of Georgia. "Uprooting Soros-ism" in Georgia is viewed one of the tools to accomplish this task. The "Anti-Soros Movement" also plans to oust Saakashvili's government but in a constitutional manner. The anti-Soros group claims that Saakashvili's government places instructions from Soros above the Georgian Constitution.

But when Soros visited Tbilisi on May 29-31, he reportedly faced a rather cool reception from the Georgian government, allegedly because of disagreements between him and Saakashvili. In January 2005 Soros, together with the United Nations Development Programme, established a "Capacity Building Fund" that provided high salaries for Georgian officials. This program likely is the basis of rumors about Soros co-opting the government of Georgia.

Now some politicians believe that a rift has developed between the two men and that Soros has begun to finance the anti-Saakashvili opposition. Soros reportedly has turned to the Republican Party as a counterweight to Saakashvili's National Movement. "Like the government, some of the so-called "opposition parties" are financed by Soros," says Mamuka Giorgadze of the Popular Party.

Whether or not the anti-Soros movement is a symptom of Georgian society's frustration, the consequences remain to be seen. Leaders of the anti-Soros movement claim that Georgian citizens are becoming increasingly anti-American. A political campaign that plays upon the sensitive topic of Georgian national identity, which Soros and his Georgian henchmen have allegedly violated, may be attractive to the public, especially to citizens unhappy with Saakashvili's governance.

Some local analysts, who frequently refer to Saakashvili as a Soros puppet, believe the anti-Soros movement is a precursor to an anti-globalization movement that would condemn the Saakashvili government for its pro-globalization values. They argue that, although the pro-Soros resources outweigh the anti-Soros forces, the emergence of this movement sends a clear message that the West-supported reforms frequently equated with Soros ideology are not popular in Georgia.

The announcement of a new parliamentary faction by the Conservative and Republican parties surprised many analysts. Both parties have always been considered part of a moderate opposition to Saakashvili (see EDM, July 11). David Zurabishvili, who recently defected from the National Movement parliamentary faction, is expected to lead the 15-seat faction, which has already invited MPs from other factions, including the ruling party's group, to join. So far the National Movement has reacted surprisingly calmly, and parliamentary chair Nino Burjanadze expressed hope for "constructive cooperation" with the faction. The two parties will preserve their organizational independence at least for now.

The new faction's stated primary goal is to safeguard the gains of the Rose Revolution. "We both -- Republicans and Conservatives -- are democratic political forces with a revolutionary background," declared Davit Berdzenishvili of the Republican Party. He stressed, "The revolutionary opposition should inspire the people" since "the revolutionary authorities are worth nothing."

While the new faction's devotion to the achievements of the Rose Revolution suggests that the National Movement can no longer claim to be the sole custodian of the Revolution, Saakashvili and his pro-Western team can likely still count on the Conservatives and Republicans in the ideological struggle with the ultra-nationalist, anti-revolution opposition forces that, according to some analysts, are unwittingly playing into Russia's hands by criticizing American and European policies in Georgia.

The relations between the new faction and the ruling party will largely determine the balance of political power in Georgia.

MosNews A new political movement is being set up in Georgia to oppose George Soros  the American billionaire and philanthropist who is known for his promotion of democracy all over the world.

Russias RIA-Novosti news agency reports that the new movement  called Antisoros  is to hold its foundation congress in Georgias capital Tbilisi on Monday.

The objective of the organization is to determine the projects that are financed by George Soros and that are undermining Georgian national traditions and are, in essence, anti-national, reads a newsletter circulated by the Antisoros founders.

Initially the organization will have about 100 members, including several former parliamentarians, the chairwoman of the opposition party Justice, Maya Topuridze, and former Georgian security minister Igor Georgadze. Independent forensic expert Maya Nikoleishvili is poised to become the chairwoman of the new movement.

Nikoleishvili is known for publicly questioning the official version of the death of Georgian prime minister Zurab Zvcania, who, according to the authorities, died of carbon monoxide poisoning this February, soon after pro-western president Mikhail Saakashvili came to power.

3
posted on 11/09/2005 4:05:18 PM PST
by jb6
(The Atheist/Pagan mind, a quandary wrapped in egoism and served with a side order of self importance)

I don't know the details of what Soros is doing over there, but if his activities here in the US (calling the President a Nazi, funding MoveOn.org, agitating for drug legalization, etc.) are any indication, they're right not to trust the jerk.

IN many James Bond films, 007 must battle some megalomaniac tycoon who plots to dominate the world by toppling governments and triggering wars.

It's always some nasty Right-winger, of course. In Tomorrow Never Dies, for instance, the filmmakers thought it would be a hoot to cast my boss, Rupert Murdoch, in the black hat.

How the Leftists who dominate Hollywood must have sniggered at the slur.

How odd, then, to find those same Hollywood liberals this week cosying up to the very billionaire who most resembles that Bond villain -- currency speculator George Soros, fresh from toppling his latest president, this time in Georgia.

And how predictable -- to those with an eye for history -- to find that Soros is no Right-winger, but a preacher of the New Age Left.

You may remember Soros as the American financier who, in 1992, bet $20 billion that the British pound would fall, and made a $1.5 billion profit in one day.

Or you may remember how he made another fortune when Asia's financial markets crashed in 1997 -- a disaster that Malaysia's then leader, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, accused Soros of having caused for cash.

Some Australians have a sweeter reason to remember Soros. Top drug experts such as Melbourne's Dr Nick Crofts and Sydney's Dr Alex Wodak have received grants from his Lindesmith Foundation, which aggressively promotes their brand of "harm minimisation".

Soros's Open Society Institute also organised a petition to the United Nations demanding an end to the "war on drugs", and had it signed here by Victorian Treasurer John Brumby, drug adviser Professor David Penington, High Court judge Michael Kirby and a gabble of our politicians.

OF course, Australia is only one of 50 countries in which Soros works. And his meddling here is nothing given what he's just done in Georgia.

Georgia has long been led by President Eduard Shevardnadze, the former Soviet Union's foreign minister under Mikhail Gorbachev.

Soros, who spends $1 billion a year to promote his vision of the "Open Society", was a Shevardnadze supporter, but fell out with him, calling him a crook.

He then backed Georgia's former justice minister, Mikhail Saakashvili, and spent some $4 million on a protest movement against the president. His organisations brought in experts in "non-violent revolution" from Serbia, gave $700,000 to an activist group that bussed in protesters, and financed an anti-government TV station and newspaper.

It worked. Last month, protesters smashed into Georgia's parliament, yelling -- probably correctly -- that Shevardnadze had stolen the elections a month ago and must quit. Shevardnadze fled, and Saakashvili looks set for leadership.

True, this may turn out to be a victory for democracy. But it also looks like a victory for a foreign tycoon and his sponsored mates.

Indeed, the editor-in-chief of the Georgian Messenger newspaper this week said: "It's generally accepted public opinion here that Mr Soros is the person who planned the Shevardnadze overthrow." Shevardnadze says he's certain of it.

NOR is this the first time Soros undermined a foreign government. From 1991, he spent up to $100 million on activists campaigning against the president of Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic.

He was also a huge donor to Human Rights Watch, and with six of his associates sat on its advisory committee on Europe.

In the early 1990s, the Kosovo Liberation Army began killing officials in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. Its tactic was brutally simple: to provoke Serbian troops into retaliating so violently that the horrified West would intervene to give Kosovo independence.

It worked -- not least because the HRW condemned Serbia's reprisals so noisily that it boasted it had helped to inspire NATO's bombing of Serbia.

After NATO's "victory", Soros gave money to the United Nations' new International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and paid for training for its judges and prosecutor. He also paid two American law faculties to help the prosecutor find evidence against Serbia's suspected war criminals -- and Milosevic.

Yes, Milosevic is repulsive. But is it healthy for a billionaire like Soros to be so involved in triggering a war, creating a court and then helping to prosecute in it the leaders of the regime he's worked so hard to topple? Who elected him? Who holds him accountable?

And now, of course, we've signed up to the International Criminal Court that Soros spent millions lobbying for -- a court which, under its rules, must consult groups of the kind Soros himself funds.

So far, you may argue, Soros has acted against only thugs and tyrants. But now he's moving against the leader of the world's greatest democracy, US President George W. Bush.

Last month, Soros declared that "America, under Bush, is a danger to the world", and defeating the president was now "the central focus of my life".

HE said he would give $13 million -- the largest individual political donation in US history -- to America Coming Together, a far-Left group of pro-Democrat activists, and up to $4 million for a Left-wing think tank. Another $6 million would go to the radical MoveOn.org protest group.

"I've come to the conclusion that one can do a lot more about the issues I care about by changing the Government than by pushing the issues," Soros said.

Soros could say that without fussing many journalists because which of them fears the Left? Imagine the uproar if Rupert Murdoch had said it instead.

Still, I can understand why Soros isn't content with simply "pushing the issues", given what happened when one of his companies in 1986 bought Spectrum 7, an oil outfit owned by George Bush, whose father was the then US Vice-President.

"We were buying political influence," Soros said bluntly. Sadly, the Bushes didn't play ball with that bit of issue pushing, and "it didn't come to anything".

On October 3, the nationalist politicians not represented in parliament announced an "Anti-Soros" public movement to repel the spreading ideas of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, which, they claim, "threaten the nation."

I hear you bro. He's trying the same $hit over here in the US.

7
posted on 11/09/2005 4:18:09 PM PST
by Proud_USA_Republican
(We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good. - Hillary Clinton)

Interesting choice for a resource... although you can find this information in many other publications...

Soros & friends have been able to legalize small doses of drugs in Russia as well. Isn't it ten "personal" doses or less and you will not be arrested by police? jb6 do you have an accurate list of projects/organizations funded by Soros in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus?

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